Oslo Buses to Be Powered by Poo

In the city of Oslo in Norway, the local government has a green-tinted vision - a vision that entails the usage of sewage as a source of renewable energy.

In the city of Oslo in Norway, the local government has a green-tinted vision - a vision that entails the usage of sewage as a source of renewable energy.

The city's Bekkelaget sewage treatment plant handles wastes from 250,000 people and the ones in charge of this particular project sees that "waste" as something more. To be exact, the plan is to introduce public buses that run on biofuel by 2010. And by "biofuel," I meant methane derives from sewage sludge.

"It's a win-win situation: It's carbon neutral, it hardly pollutes the environment, it's less noisy and its endlessly renewable," a project member called Ole Jakob Johansen says. The collected human wastes from 250,000 people can apparently produce enough biomethane to run a total of 80 buses for 62,000 miles each.

The result is a carbon neutral operation and emissions which are 78 percent less in nitrogen oxide and 98 percent in less solid particles than usual. If the project pulls through, the biomethane would cost 98 cents per liter. And, the moment the whole Oslo bus fleet converts, Oslo's carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 30,000 per annum.